[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 71 (Thursday, April 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22478-22479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07764]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044; FXES11130400000-223-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay; Indian River 
County, FL; Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Remington Stewart, LLP (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened Florida 
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) incidental to the construction and 
operation of a commercial development in Indian River County, Florida. 
We request public comment on the application, which includes the 
applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the 
Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action 
may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on 
Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, 
and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary 
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and 
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and 
Federal agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before May 15, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents 
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044, at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0044; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfredo Begazo, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 772-469-4234 or via email at 
[email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, 
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. 
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services 
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from Remington Stewart, LLP 
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed Florida scrub-
jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) incidental to the 
construction and operation of a commercial development in Indian River 
County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which 
includes the applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the 
Service's preliminary determination that this proposed ITP qualifies as 
``low effect,'' and may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to 
the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the 
Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's 
Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary 
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and 
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take scrub-jays via the 
conversion of approximately 0.93 acre (ac) of occupied nesting, 
foraging, and sheltering scrub-jay habitat incidental to the 
construction of a commercial development on a 3.11-ac parcel in Section 
30; Township 38 South; Range 30 East; Indian River County, Florida. The 
applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the scrub-jays by purchasing 
credits equivalent to 1.86 ac of scrub-jay-occupied habitat from a 
Service-approved conservation bank. The Service would require the 
applicant to purchase the credits prior to engaging in any construction 
phase of the project.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, 
may be made available to the public. While you may request that we 
withhold your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee 
that we will be able to do so.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project--including the construction of a commercial 
building, driveway, parking space, green areas, stormwater pond, and 
associated infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and sewer lines)--
would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the scrub-
jay and the human environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily 
determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a 
``low-effect'' ITP that individually or cumulatively would have a minor 
effect on the scrub-jay and may qualify for application of a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI 
Departmental Manual. A ``low-effect'' ITP is one that would result in 
(1) minor or nonsignificant effects on species covered in the HCP; (2) 
nonsignificant effects on the human environment; and (3) impacts that, 
when added together with the impacts of other past, present, and 
reasonable foreseeable actions, would not result in significant 
cumulative effects to the human environment.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to 
determine whether to issue the requested ITP. We will also conduct an 
intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate 
the effects of the proposed take. After considering the preceding and 
other matters, we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria 
of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service 
will issue ITP number PER0563271 to Remington Stewart, LLP.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16

[[Page 22479]]

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32), 
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 
CFR 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-07764 Filed 4-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P